Windows--98, 2000, ME, XP???

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 7, 2002

Bird,

<font color=blue>...Ya'll are gonna gimme an inferiority complex, since my computer came with ME.</font color=blue>

Don't feel bad.. ours came with ME also. What a horror show! My wife just wrote me that she successfully installed Suse Linux 7.3 on one of our machines today. We are stuck with DirecPC, satellite service, because we live in the boonies. This means that her machine, the server, must run Windows for the near future.. but they will soon release a box which gives us a true TCP/IP signal, at which point all of our computers will be running Linux.

BTW, if anyone is tempted to use the DirecPC satellite service, my only advice is don't do it! This is the worst service I've ever had, and that's saying something!

But, maybe wireless someday in the future. In the meantime, at least we can get rid of Microsoft and switch over to Linux. I'm thrilled. Can't wait to get home and play with the new install. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bob

looch · Feb 7, 2002

I made the switch to Mandrake 8.1 about 2 months ago and have not regretted it. Just add Sun's Star Office Suite and you have MS Office compatibility (and it's free!).

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 7, 2002

I'm suggesting to our office (NYS Office of Mental Retardation) that we switch to Linux right now. I really don't want to get into the XP mess, and, to add insult to injury, to have to pay for it. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Yeah, Star Office looks good so far....

Bob_Trevithick · Feb 9, 2002

Well, here I am on Linux.. using a browser called "Konqueror". It all works fine except for some "minor" details. For example, going to main index and asking for a list of messages in the last X hours results in nothing at all happening! There will obviously be some learning curve here! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

But hey, I'm logged in, signed on, able to post, etc.. and not one byte of Microcrud code is running. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

If I don't reply to messages, don't take it personally.. it's just that I didn't get them or whatever. We're still working on this, and it's a bear to learn new stuff when you're an old dog!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Buck · Feb 9, 2002

Scruffy,

I am the only person I know that likes Microsoft products! Years ago I was able to install Linux (before it was popular) on my machine and I just didn't like it.

Last year I bought Red Hat and had to spend dozens of hours trying to tune parameters for my display, modem, scanner, printer, etc... etc... Once I had it working and I had to get something done, I ended up going to Windows anyway (I had dual boot installed).

To me using Unix or Linux is sort of like learning income tax code. It is just not something I want to spend my time doing.

I don't think Linux is for the casual user at all and I would not recommend that Bird entertain it.

I do hope that the Red Hats can compete with Microsoft in the long haul. I am not for monopolies. I think that the Internet may help, but I think that the Java Zealots ought to quit complaining and look at what Microsoft will achieve with their .NET strategy before they declare the war over!

Buck

scruffy · Feb 9, 2002

All I can say, is LINUX has come a LONGGGGGG ways in just a few years. Mandrake, Red Hat, SuSe, and a host of others have had some great strides in developement. It has gotten very easy to install, and some versions, such as ELX, is directly geared to the ex Winders users. If you like Windows, you would like ELX (which stands for Everyone's Linux), easy windows like install and operation. The days of fighting the install/setup are pretty much gone.
Over the coming year or two, many more programs will be 'ported' to Linux...and that is what I am waiting for! I run linux on one box, and will soon have my 'gateway' to the web blocked by a linux box running smoothwall firewall on it.
Unfortunately, due to job requirements, I will be running a WinBox until all the software I need is ported over. Bummer.
It would be nice if Ol' Billy would throw some glass in all them winders, and maybe (at least) slow down the unwanted traffic.

Buck · Feb 9, 2002

Scruffy,

Thanks for the clarification. I'll look into ELX.

Buck

Bird · Feb 9, 2002

<font color=blue>I would not recommend that Bird entertain it</font color=blue>

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gifYep, Bird has enough problems without trying to learn a whole new system./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Anonymous Poster · Feb 9, 2002

I've seen that too -- it is a peculiar bug.

Right click on the link, select "Copy Location", then right click on the Location
bar and select "Clear", right click again and select "Paste" and then hit
Enter and your off and running.

Surely Konqueror will fix this soon. There's always Mozilla too, which is
getting pretty good.

Welcome to GNU/Linux, by the way!

Anonymous Poster · Feb 9, 2002

I've tried to explain a hundred times why GNU/Linux is better. The short
version is, "Windows users do as they are told". I should be honest and
admit that I don't encourage my mother or most of my clients to use
GNU/Linux (on the desktop, but always on servers) because I know it
would just frustrate them. But anyone who is capable really should take
the plunge.

Microsoft very deliberately makes you a second class citizen when your
software is two years old.

For example, I used to consult for banks, and from time to time my
coworkers and I would get a Word attachment that we couldn't open
because it was the lastest version of Word. At the time I thought it
was just annoying, but then when I went to work for MS I realized that
this is 100% deliberate. There is no good reason to break the file
format between releases, other than to make people upgrade. I
agree that Microsoft does some very imressive engineering and usability
work, but they go to greater lengths to get your money.